Five features (plus a scattering of documentaries) into his career, leading Bulgarian writer-director Stephan Komandarev has resisted cultivating a clear thematic or stylistic throughline to his oe…
,” feels surprisingly close to quintessential, pulling as it does plot points, structural models and tonal switches from his previous films into one stacked crowdpleaser.
That should clue you into a certain level of contrivance powering Komandarev and Simeon Ventsislavov’s heavily knotted script, though it also points to default corruption even in the most upstanding areas of law enforcement. Their negligence will be countered with opposing acts of humanity and heroism as the night — which, pointedly, happens to mark the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall and Bulgaria’s ensuing regime change — wears on.
Elena and Marin are partners distracted from their duties by an ill-judged sexual affair; their closeness muddies matters when Marin breaks protocol, upon rescuing a geriatric escapee from a local care home and discovering horrific, in-name-only living conditions in its wards. Old-timer Todor and young gun Vasil must likewise make a swift choice between cop code and human instinct when attending to a young boy grievously assaulted by neo-Nazi bullies.
That’s just a skimming of the heated subplots that surface in the course of this long night’s journey into day: Deftly juggled by editor Nina Altaparmakova, they clash, cross and pinball off each other in ways reminiscent of Paul Haggis’ “Crash” — and as in that divisive Oscar winner, the resulting narrative climaxes range from nervy to outlandish.
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